Container and locking device therefor



Jul 2, 1940.

Filed May 22, 1957 INVENT OR ATTORNEYS Patented July 2, 1940 UNITED?STATES CONTAINER AND Loo INo DEVICE THEREFOR Frank Rutledge Davis,Scarsdale, N. Y assignor to Davis Emergency Equipment Company, In-

corporated, New York,

New York N,"Y., a corporation of Application May 22 1937, Serial No.144,178

3 Claims.

This invention relates to containers and more particularly to containersadapted to be secured in a fixed location as on a wall or in a vehicle.The container is intended primarily for use in 1 conjunction withfirst-aid or other materials which must be kept available for instantuse in case of an emergency, and which must also be kept in goodcondition and protected from the elements over long periods of non-use.

m It is an object of this invention to provide a container whichcomprises a completely 'enwhich device is capable of being locked orunlocked by a single movement of a handle, which also serves as acarrying handle for the recepac e. l

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the detaileddescription of an ems bodiment of the invention shown in the accom- 26panying drawing, in Which- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a completecontainer in assembled position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bottom end showing in detail one form oflocking device; and

Fig. 3 is a front elevation partly in section and with the cover of theinner receptacle broken away to show the contents of said receptacle.

Fig. 4 is a section through the locking end of a container embodyinganother form'of construction which includes a seal between theoutercontainer and the inner receptacle.

Referring to the drawing, the complete container comprises two mainparts, a long rectangular box 5 to one side of which are secured, as bywelding, a pair of brackets it having screw holes 1 whereby the box 5may be permanently secured to any desired object. It will be noted thatthe box 5 is closed on five sides, and is open only at one end so thatif secured in the position shown in the drawing it will serve to protectthe inner receptacle and its. contents from the elements even if in anexposed position. If otherwise protected, however, it may be secured inany position.

The receptacle for holding packets of first aid or other material is inthe form of an elongated rectangular tray 8 of such size as to slidefreely inside the box 5. This tray is provided with a cover 9 fastenedto the tray at one end by a hinge 10. The cover 9 overlaps three edgesof the tray 65 8 and is held in closed position by slight projections ll in the walls of the tray over which the cover snaps. The tray 8 isshown as filled with unit packets I2 and multiple unit packets I3 and Hicontaining first-aid material. The tray 8 is'in efiect a covered drawersliding in the cabinet provided by the box 5.

The tray 8 has secured to its outer end a recessed stamping it slightlylarger than the end of thetray and adapted to fit snugly in the end ofthe box 5. Pivotally mounted in the stamping is a rectangular plate Itprovided at diagonally oposite corners with cars IS. The stamping H5 isprovided with openings It so placed as to permit the cars it to protrudethrough them as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. The box 5 is providedwith similar openings which register with the openings in the stampingwhen the tray 8 is fully inserted within the box 5. A handle 20 isfastened to the plate l6 and provides means whereby the plate. may beturned from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to the positionshown in dotted lines, which are, respectively, the locked and unlockedpositions. The plate It is secured to the stamping l5 and the tray 8 bymeans of a rivet 2i which is surrounded by a washer (not shown) u whichseparates plate it from stamping I5 and eliminates frictiontherebetween. The handle 2|! also provides means whereby the tray .8 maybe carried. It will be noted that the corners of plate it limit themovement of the plate in the unlocked position.

This locking device is not limited in its application to a single kit asshown but wouldbe equally useful with such modifications as would beobvious to any mechanic as a lock for the drawers of a card filingdevice or similar drawer structure. l

To hold the inner receptacle in the box 5 in such manner that it willnot rattle and cannot be accidentally disconnected therefrom, a springmember 22 is fastened to the inner end of the tray 3 and so positionedas to exert pressure against the end of the box 5 when the tray and boxare locked together. The outward pressure exerted upon the tray by thespring causes the ears H! of the locking plate to press against theouter edges of the openings in the box 5 through which they protrude,and to further assure against accidental unlocking these ears may beprovided with transversely extending notches 23 which will engage thelower edges of the openings of the box 5.

From the foregoing description it will be clear that with the assembledunit in position as shown in Fig 1, the first-aid kit can be removed foruse by simply grasping the handle 20 and twisting it slightly in acounter-clockwise direction and withdrawing the tray 8. After use it canbe returned in a similar manner by inserting the tray.

8 in the box 5, exerting a slight inward pressure to compress the spring22, the two units 'being.

locked together by twisting the handle 20 slightly in a clockwisedirection.

This invention is of particular usefulness where, for example, it isdesired to equip a fleet of trucks or buses with first-aid kits.. It isof prime importance that in such installations each kit shall have itsfull complement of supplies;

To assure this, the operator of each vehicle can be made responsible forthe contents of his kit and can be subjected to daily inspection. By

- that in case of emergency the complete first-aid kit can be quicklydetached by means of the handle 20 and carried thereby to the scene ofan accident.v During the normally long periods of nonuse the contentsare doubly protected by the covered receptacle 8 and the box 5. I

In order to provide a substantially air-tight seal between the outercontainer and the inner receptacle the construction illustrated in Fig.4 may be used. As shown, the container 5 is provided with a flangesecured to its inner surface a short distance from the open end. Thestamping 3| which is secured to the end of the inner receptacle 8' isprovided with a shoulder 32 and a rim 33. A washer 34 of rubber or othergasket material is secured either to the flange 30 or the shoulder 32 soas to lie between them. The rim 33is extended so as to be flush with thesides of the container 5. Pivotally mounted in the stamping 3! on rivet2| is a locking plate I6 having ears I8 and a handle 20' which functionin a manner similar to the device of Fig. 3 except that the ears "3'look under the flange 30. The relative sizes of container 5andreceptacle 8" are somewhat diiferent as the receptacle must be smallenough to clear the flange 30.

Itwill be understood that the foregoing is a description of the presentpreferred embodiment of theinvention and that various modifications maybe made therein within the scope of the following claims.

said flange, a gasket interposed between said flange and said end-memberto form a tight joint therebetween, a movable locking member disposed onsaid end-member and having parts adapted to be moved into engagementwith the inner face of said flange, and a carrying handle for saidreceptacle adapted to actuate said locking member upon movement of saidhandle.

2. A container for an emergency kit of first-aid materials or the likecomprising an outer box having a single opening and adapted to bepermanently secured in a selected location for the kit, a completelyremovable separately covered receptacle for said materials adapted tofit into said box and for insertion thirough said opening, a lockingdevice of the type actuated by partial rotation pivotally mounted on theouter end of said receptacle, means on the end of said box adjacent theouter end of the receptacle adapted for engagement by said lockingdevice, and a carrying handle for said receptacle adapted to serve alsoas means for actuating said locking device, whereby said receptacle canbe unlocked, withdrawn from said box and transported merely by graspingthe handle, turning it and pulling out the receptacle.

3. A container for an emergency kit of first-aid materials or the likecomprising an outer box having a single opening and adapted to bepermanently secured ina selected location for the kit, a completelyremovable separately covered receptacle for said materials adapted tofit into said. box and for insertion through said'opening, saidcontainer being of such length that when fully inserted in said box theedges of the box extend beyond the end of the container, a rotatablelocking memberpivotally mounted on the outer end of said receptacle andhaving oppositely disposed ears, the walls of said box being providedwith apertures adapted to receive said ears, and a carrying handle forsaid receptacle attached to said locking member by which it can berotated 'to efiect insertion of said ears into said apertures and theirwithdrawal therefrom.

F. RU'ILEDGE DAVIS.

